What if?
by Bumblelamp
Summary: What if Inuyasha and Kagome never met in the feudal era? What if Inuyasha's spell wore off, letting him back out into the world confused and betrayed? And what if 500 years later he runs into the spitting image of his betrayer in modern Tokyo? Pushed onwards by her troubled spirit, Kagome continues to look for her purpose in this world. What if she finds it?
1. Chapter 1 - An Uncertain Heart

A/N: This is an AU dabble inspired by Fenikkusuken's "The Price" and obviously Inuyasha. You should definitely check out "The Price," it remains one of my favorite Inuyasha fanfics of all time!

What if Inuyasha and Kagome never met in the feudal era? What if Inuyasha's spell wore off, letting him back out into the world confused and betrayed? And what if 500 years later he runs into the spitting image of his betrayer in modern Tokyo? Kagome has been plagued by a nameless anxiety for her whole life. Pushed onwards by her troubled spirit, Kagome continues to look for her purpose in this world. What if she finds it?

Chapter 1 – An Uncertain Heart

Kagome sat at her desk with her books arranged and pen poised ready for a productive night of studying. Unluckily for her, Kagome's mind was far from being ready to study let alone productive studying. Her mind was a million miles away, somewhere over the towering buildings of downtown Tokyo. The lights sparkled in the evening air, heat waves still rising from the concrete and warping the light filtering through the night sky. The sparkling beads danced in front of her.

Buyo, Kagome's lumpy calico cat, suddenly jumped into her lap drawing a startled 'Oof!' from the girl. The movement anchored her mind firmly back into her room. With a few blinks and a shake of her head Kagome eyes refocused back into her room. She smiled down at the cat, running her fingers absently through the cat's fur.

"Buyo, you really ought to lose some weight. Gotta cut back on the snacks!" The girl laughed, cuddling the cat closer. Buyo's only response was to purr, unconcerned about the girl's comment on her weight. With a sigh, Kagome turned her attention back to her books.

"Ugh, I really ought to study. Somehow my brain just doesn't want to cooperate."

Kagome's eyes fell onto the blank daruma atop some old school books on her desk. She had received the present as a gift from her grandfather when she had graduated from high school, a vast improvement from the usual gift her grandfather gave her.

The branches of the tree outside her window weaved back and forth between the lights of the city. She shifted her weight restlessly, scooching the cat from one leg to the other. The untouched daruma looked blindly into the room, a wordless accusation on its lips.

 _Why haven't you made your wish for the future on me yet?_

Kagome's heart felt heavy. She couldn't quite put into words what was wrong, really everything had been going well for her. Not only had she gotten into the university of her dreams, but she also had convinced her grandfather that medical school was an incredibly honorable profession (impressive since he was dead set on her becoming the head of the shrine her family home resided on). And sure, her relationship with Hojo was short lived, but at least she had made an attempt at a relationship, right?

Despite her successes, Kagome felt like she was aimlessly wandering through her life. She had every reason in the world to be happy, but still a nameless worry wandered around in her heart. It was particularly bad today, especially with the reminder of the daruma on her desk.

 _Maybe starting that daruma will ease my worries a little…? It couldn't hurt to put some luck into my corner._

She took the doll in her hand, feeling the weight pressing against her skin. The only question was, what to wish for? Kagome closed her eyes, pressing the doll lightly to her forehead.

 _I wish… I wish that I will find the meaning of my life, that I'll feel like I'm on the right path and that I have some reason for being here._

Kagome grabbed a sharpie from her desk and carefully drew the required eye onto the doll. She admired her handiwork, turning the doll in the light. With a contented sigh, Kagome gently rested the half-blind doll back on her desk and rolled her shoulders. Looking down at her books forlornly, Kagome gently closed her books. Studying was going to be useless tonight.

XXX

It usually started in the middle of a cool, dark forest. The trees blocked most of the light from filtering to the ground, causing her to trip over the exposed roots. The air thrummed thickly between the trees, and some nameless worry caused her to continue moving forward despite her fear of tripping and faceplanting in the dark. She had a distinct feeling that she was looking for someone or something, but she didn't know who, or what, it was. Ah, yes. It was _that_ dream.

But… Somehow… Unlike her past dreams where she just wandered aimlessly in the dark, the forest up ahead seemed…brighter? Kagome carefully picked her way through the maze of roots, gratefully using the thin light to protect her shins from the roots. She had been in the dark for so long that the light nearly blinded her as she dipped under a branch and stepped into the clearing.

The dark haired girls' eyes blinked rapidly, her hand coming up to her face to shield her eyes from the sudden light.

 _Wha…? Is that the Goshinboku?_

In the light of the moon, the unmistakable features of the sacred tree that resided on her home at the Sunset Shrine stretched up into the inky sky. Kagome circled the tree in wonder, admiring the way the stars shone through the leaves of the sacred tree. _Don't get a view like this at home_.

"Ahhhh!" Kagome squealed, a rogue branch catching her foot and sending her tumbling to the ground. _There was a person attached to the tree?_

In the place of the scar on the tree at home, a man was sleeping leaned up against the tree. His hair shined silver in the starlight, a lone breeze gently tussling his hair.

 _Oh… he's been shot by an arrow. Maybe he isn't sleeping after all. I wonder what happened to him?_

She hoisted herself off the ground, rubbing the sore area of her hip. Quietly, so as to not wake the man if he _was_ still alive, Kagome tentatively approached the figure. She gently touched the arrow, noting the older style of the make. This sure wasn't like any of the arrows she used in her archery competitions—

This arrow was _old_.  Incredibly old. Kagome had only seen arrows like this one in the feudal age area of the museum. A flash of the red and white costume of the feudal era priestess passed through Kagome's mind. Was this man attacked by a priestess?

Tendrils of silvery hair wandered in front of his face with the breeze. Intrigued by the color, Kagome reached out a hand to tuck his hair behind his… ear? Where was it?

Confused, the girl followed the curve of the man's face until she came across two lumps atop the man's head.

 _Are those dog ears?!_

Tentatively, she reached out her other hand to lightly touch the ears to confirm what she was seeing. The velvety ear gently bent under the pressure of her fingers, reminding Kagome of the ear rubs she would give Buyo at home. Fascinated, she spent several minutes lightly caressing the man's ears.

 _Alright, now that I've gotten_ _ **that**_ _out of my system…_

She brought her eyes back down to the man's face, and let go of her gentle hold on his ear with a start. Golden eyes stared back at her accusingly. With a yelp Kagome fell back from the tree, the world whirling back into darkness.

Kagome sat up in her bed with a start, eyes wide and chest heaving. Her heart was beating hard in her ears, the sound echoing throughout her room. The sun peeked through her window, giving everything in her room a soft glow. Buyo looked up at the girl sleepily, giving a soft meow of protest at the girl's sudden movement. Kagome took a deep breath, working to calm her racing heart.

 _What a strange dream. The forest is familiar to me, but that man… Why was he in my dream?_

With a stretch and a shake of her head, Kagome banished the strangeness of her dream from her head. It might be a little early, but this was a good opportunity to get a little more studying in before today's class. Sometimes, waking up early from a strange dream was a blessing in disguise. The dream already was fading quietly back into the recesses of her mind.

XXX

"Mama! I'm leaving!" Kagome called out through the house, her giant bag weighing down her shoulder.

"Bye sweetheart! Have a good day at school!" Her mother's voice called back, eliciting a smile from Kagome's face. She couldn't be more grateful for her family. If only her subconscious would allow her to feel the happiness she thought she should be feeling. She clapped her hands together.

 _Today's focus is to appreciate all of the good things in my life!_

Readjusting the heavy bag on her shoulders, Kagome took off across the grounds of her family shrine and right into the spitting image of the man from her dream.


	2. Chapter 2 - A Purple Eyed Stranger

A/N: This chapter is quite a bit longer than the first one, but I hope you like it! Any tips, suggestions, or pieces of advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha, but a big thanks goes out to Rumiko Takahashi for supplying us with such a great story and great characters! :)

Chapter 2—A Purple Eyed Stranger

"Oof! Excuse me, sir, I am _so_ sorry!" Kagome exclaimed, hurriedly kneeling to help the man pick up his belongings that were now scattered around the courtyard. Her heart pounded in her ears for the second time that morning, her face bloomed a scarlet red. _How could I be so clumsy?!_

The man scoffed quietly, continuing to pick up his belongings from the floor.

"It's not a problem. You might want to think about putting up a few warning signs, though. Something like, "Caution, Girls With Huge Yellow Backpacks Crossing." That would probably help." He chuckled to himself, straightening up with his items piled up in his arms. Kagome kept her eyes to the ground, head bowed in apology.

 _Why you…_ She ground her teeth together but kept her annoyance from reaching her voice. Mostly.

"Please accept my apology. Normally we don't have visitors this close to the house at this time," She chirped as cheerfully as she could muster.

She took a quick peek up at the man through her hair before returning her gaze to the ground. He had long, black hair tied loosely behind his back, his strikingly violet eyes poked out from behind his bangs. He had on a leather jacket with red accents, a little strange for a man visiting a Shinto Shrine in the middle of Tokyo. Adding to his slightly out-of-place attire was an eclectic beaded necklace sticking out from under his shirt collar. Most importantly, however, his ears were definitely the right shape and on the correct part of his head. Right where they should be.

 _Why did I think he looked like the man from my dream? He looks nothing like him… not to mention that a dreamed person probably doesn't exist. I'm pretty sure people aren't born with dog ears, either, no matter how cute it may be._

The silence hung heavily in the air for a moment. Kagome tentatively straightened back up to face the man, her arms crossing subconsciously in front of her chest. Now that she had verified that she _hadn't_ somehow made it back into her dream, she found it less impossible to look him in the eyes. He stared at her for a brief moment, a strange expression on his face before he shifted it into a smirk.

"I was on my way up to the main house to speak with the caretakers of the shrine," the man explained. "Rumor has it that you have a collection of valuable artifacts that I was interested in looking through. I'm a museum curator and I've been looking to build up the feudal era exhibit." He took a moment to reorganize his spilled belongings into the black and red messenger bag at his side. _Matching bag-jacket set? Where does this guy get his fashion sense from?_

"Well, good luck with that," Kagome laughed. "Gramps has sure collected a lot of things over the years, but the trick is getting him to part with any of it!"

The man chuckled softly, the sound oddly gentle in Kagome's ears. He leaned over to assist Kagome in picking up her giant backpack from the ground where it had ungracefully landed after the collision.

"Sheesh girl, what do you have in this bag? Are you planning on going backpacking around the country for a month?" He joked, pretending to struggle under the weight of the bag. Kagome smacked his arm playfully, a smile peeking out from her attempt at a scowl at the man's accusation.

"No, just a student studying medicine!"

The sound of the clock hitting the top of the hour rang through the courtyard, making Kagome's eyes go wide. "And a student who is about to be late to her classes! Excuse my hasty exit, but I must go! Continue up this path and my mother and grandfather will assist you." Kagome bobbed her head before turning towards the gate.

The man gently protested, "Do I-do I at least get to know your name before you leave, doctor?" His voice was thick with emotion for a moment, cracking before switching to an appropriate level of humor. Kagome turned around walking backwards at a brisk pace.

"Higurashi Kagome," She called. "Please excuse me, Mister…?"

"Nishiki. Nishiki Inuyasha." He said curtly, with a nod of his head. "Until next time, Miss Higurashi."

XXX

 _ **What the actual FUCK?!**_

Inuyasha watched dumbfounded as the carbon copy of the woman who had sealed him to the damn tree disappeared down the steps of the shrine and headed off to her classes. Somehow, he had managed to keep his composure during his brief interaction with the girl but his heart had been in his throat the entire time. The spot on his chest that the arrow had pierced ached faintly. He rubbed his chest absentmindedly while his mind raced backwards in time.

It was then that Inuyasha decided the world truly did have it out for him.

He quickly ducked behind a shed out of view from the house and the path leading up into the shrine, his back falling hard against the exterior wall before sliding down to the ground. Inuyasha knew that reincarnation was a thing. He'd actually met up with several friends throughout the decades and centuries as they went through the wheel. But never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he would meet up with _Kikyou's_ reincarnation.

 _Fuck_.

The branches of the Goshinboku rustled quietly in the wind, filling the courtyard with a soft, calming melody. Inuyasha closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the shed, trying to do some of the pokey 'deep breathing' that Sango had been trying to push down his throat for the past few weeks. He breathed deep, filling his diaphragm as completely as he could before letting it out in a huff.

"Well, this is going to be a weird ass day," He muttered to himself, pulling his phone from the pocket of his jacket.

"Hey Sango, are you busy? It's not even 8:30 in the morning and my day has taken a turn for the bizarre. Can we meet in our usual spot? Sweet."

He slipped his phone back into his jacket, stood up, and brushed the dirt from his jeans. _Bizarre doesn't even begin to cover it._

XXX

"Ugh, why couldn't we live at a shrine that is at street level?" Kagome grumbled to herself as she climbed the steep staircase up to the house. The straps of her bag dug into her shoulders as she climbed, made all the worse by the heat waves rising from the concrete and the heat of the afternoon summer sun beating down on her skin.

One would reasonably assume that the stairs would eventually get easier as one got used to the exertion, but the stairs to the Higurashi Shrine have been Kagome's rival since the day she could walk on her own. A bead of sweat ran down Kagome's forehead making her hair stick uncomfortably to her scalp and face.

 _I might want to reconsider hauling around this GINORMOUS backpack, even if I do have my bike to help me get from the shrine to school and back._

Kagome huffed a huge sigh of relief as she final made it to the top of the stairs, pausing a moment in the shade to catch her breath. She admired the look of the sun shinning through the leaves, casting the courtyard in a golden-green hue in the way that never ceased to take away Kagome's breath. After a moment or two, and lots of deep breathing in an attempt to calm her labored breathing, Kagome jogged over to the house.

"Mama! I'm back!" Kagome called breathlessly. She peeled the incredibly heavy and sweaty bag from her shoulders, letting it hit the floor with a heavy thunk.

"Welcome home, Kagome! How was your day, dear?"

"Uh, a little weird but it could have been worse for sure!" Kagome walked into the kitchen, giving her mom a squeeze on the shoulder. She held a cloth under the sink and gently dabbed the sweat from her forehead. Her mom chuckled warmly, cheerily working away at the pile of dirty dishes in the sink.

"What made it weird, dear?" Mama inquired, her brow furrowing slightly while she worked at a stubborn patch of food on the dish in her hand. Kagome picked up a clean, dry cloth and started drying the dishes her mother had already cleaned.

"Just someone I ran into this morning," Kagome said evasively, thinking back to her 'treacherous' journey from the house earlier.

"Oh, did you see Ayumi? It's been a long time since you've mentioned her!"

"No, not Ayumi. Just a strange man looking for Gramps. Did he ever make it up to the house?"

"Hmm. Now that you mention it, I do remember a man asking for Gramps earlier today. I think he will be returning later this afternoon to meet with him-" A knock pierced through the room, interrupting her mother mid-sentence.

"Haha, speaking of, it looks like he has arrived! Kagome, could you let him in and make him comfortable? I'll go get Gramps."

Kagome cringed slightly, wiping the last dish dry before gently putting it back into its proper place. "Sure thing, mama," Kagome sighed, brushing her hands off on her skirt.

 _I can do this. He's just a guy. A reasonably attractive guy, sure, and also the guy you ran headfirst into today, but just a guy. You've got this Higurashi._

She squared her shoulders, eliciting a few cracks in her joints that were left over from her heavy backpack, lifted her chin, and essentially marched over to the front door. With more deep breathing required than Kagome would have liked to admit, Kagome opened the door to her purple-eyed stranger.

"Hello again, Mr. Nishiki. Long time no see!" Kagome laughed awkwardly after a brief pause, her face turning a brilliant red in her embarrassment. _Nice going Higurashi. Cool as a cucumber_.

The man chuckled. "Good afternoon Miss Higurashi. Are you rushing somewhere else again? Do I need to worry about getting run over for a second time?" Mr. Nishiki feigned jumping to the left, a goofy grin on his face before he suddenly seemed to remember himself. He caught himself mid jump and straightened up into a formal, impersonal posture although a twinkle of laughter remained in his eyes.

Kagome hadn't thought that her face could get any redder, but apparently it could. "Again, my apologies Mr. Nishiki. If you'd like to come inside, my grandfather will be with you shortly." Kagome gestured the man inside, stepping aside as he dipped his head in thanks.

For two beats of uncomfortable silence the two regarded the other carefully—One from the sides of his eyes, the other from underneath her hair.

"Mr. Nishiki, thanks for coming by!" Gramps boomed cheerfully. It wasn't every day that people would come by the shrine _asking_ for him to ramble on about the artifacts he loved so dearly. And gosh darn it, he was going to take advantage of it!

The tension broke instantly, dissolving into the room like nothing had happened. Kagome regarded her grandfather with a smile before bowing her head and backing out of the room with a noncommittal apology for her absence. She rubbed her arms slightly, trying to brush away the awkward feeling clawing at her skin.

 _That was… weird. He seemed almost as confused to see me as I was to see him after that dream I had last night._

With a shake of her head, Kagome resolved to banish her anxieties to the far recesses of her mind. Thus, it was clearly time to drag out the old archery set. Nothing like a little bit of physical exertion to help reset the ol' fight v. flight response! Kagome wasn't exactly a marksman, but she was pretty good if she did say so herself. She felt at home out on the archery range in the trees behind the shrine—It was almost like being transported to a different era for a while.

Kagome made her way outside, relieved to be outside of the range of the conversation between her grandfather and Mr. Nishiki. She dragged the makeshift target for her archery out from behind the shed, maneuvering it back into the dent of grass that previous shooting sessions had caused. Kagome jogged back to the shed, fetching her arrows and bow from the hook on the wall. She ran a hand lovingly over the worn surface of the bow before hoisting the quiver onto her back. Twirling an arrow between her fingers, Kagome got into position in front of the target.

' _Breathe, Kagome. Feel the energy of the world move in and out of your lungs. Center your mind and your heart. Feel the tension in the string, the bow, your arm, your body, the ground. Then, let go!'_

Her father's voice echoed through her mind as she drew the arrow back and released, giving the arrow over to the wind.

XXX

Inuyasha resisted the urge to drum his fingers against the table, the old man's voice droned on about an obviously fake copy of a feudal era object that the shrine had acquired. Inuyasha had gotten better control of his temper over the years, but it wasn't _that_ much better. This conversation was just a hairs breadth away from being unbearable. It came down to a simple fact: Inuyasha was _not_ a patient man.

Mostly, he wanted information. It also didn't help that this place made his skin crawl. This was the first time that he had been back to this shrine since he woke up from his centuries long nap on the tree with an arrow through his heart. In all honesty, it had taken about just as long since then to work up the courage to come back here.

Some bad feelings don't die easily.

He was hoping to get some information on his sword, the tetsusaiga. Unfortunately for him, Inuyasha had lost the sword not long after he had obtained it. A powerful monk had smacked the sword out of the half-demon's hands during a battle, knocked Inuyasha out with some scented beads, and ran off with his prize. His latest lead had directed him to this shrine, much to Inuyasha's chagrin. He _may_ or may not have been purposefully avoiding this shrine. Street. Side of town. Anything within smelling distance of this shrine.

The old man paused in his oration of the background of the strange (and fake) item in his hand, perplexed by the pained expression that had just gone across Inuyasha's face. "Are you alright there young man? Am I going too fast for you?"

Inuyasha held up his hands, palms out, fake smile plastered onto his face.

"No, no, I'm sorry, just a passing thought, that's all! Please, continue." Inuyasha relaxed marginally when the old man shrugged his shoulders and continued on with his story.

So maybe he had fibbed about being a museum curator, but he _was_ genuinely curious about locating an item from the feudal era. After many, _many_ years of false leads and broken promises, Inuyasha finally felt like he was closing in on the location of his precious sword.

 _It'd be nice to have a chance to learn some of the hidden techniques that had lain dormant in the sword in the short time that I had it._

"So Mr. Nishiki, what do you think of this item? Would it fit into the exhibit that you are working on at the museum?" Gramps said hopefully, holding out the item he had been droning on about for the past few moments. Inuyasha eyed the object carefully, humoring the man by accepting the object to 'inspect' it.

"Hmm. Well, if I am honest Mr. Higurashi, while this item is quite, um, exquisite," Inuyasha swallowed before continuing. "I am more interested in adding on to the weapons area of the exhibit. Swords, Axes, you know, that kind of thing. Do you happen to have any items of interest along those lines?"

The old man accepted the item back into his hands, beaming at Inuyasha's description _(He called it exquisite!)_.

"Hrm… well, we may have a few things. Give me a moment to go look in the shed, I'm sure I have something…" Gramps mumbled to himself, shambling off into the other room.

A flash of color from outside caught Inuyasha's eye and he turned to look. He saw the Higurashi girl—Kagome did she say?—dragging a multicolored lump from behind a shed into the clearing behind the shrine.

 _What is she doing…?_ He watched the girl curiously as she maneuvered the large item into place. She jogged briskly back to the shed, disappearing inside for a moment before reemerging with a—

Inuyasha nearly fell out of his chair. _Archery, seriously?! What is with this girl?_

"Ah, is Kagome out there practicing her archery again?" Gramps chuckled as he came back into the room.

"It looks like it," Inuyasha murmured, still feeling a little wobbly on his chair.

"Do you follow archery at all?" Gramps asked, setting a small armful of weapon cases on the table. Inuyasha saw Kagome unleash a few perfectly aimed shots into the target from the corner of his eye.

"Some," Inuyasha replied. "It's more of an appreciation than anything else. Archery has always held a special place in my heart."

"Well my boy, why don't you go pop out to take a look at Kagome! She hasn't competed in a few years, but she is still an excellent archer. I could use a moment or two to collect my bearings on these items."

With an absent nod, Inuyasha rose quietly from the table. He did his best to make his gate nonchalant as he walked slowly out of the house and towards the makeshift shooting ground. Better to not let this girl know that he was vaguely uncomfortable around dark haired women wielding arrows.

The afternoon sun was warm on his hair, a soft breeze lifted a few inky tendrils up around his face. His ears swiveled appreciatively in the golden light, his concealment spell keeping any curious eyes from noticing. Inuyasha took a moment to savor the feeling as a distraction from the sense of impending doom as he approached the girl.

He walked quietly over to Kagome as she was pulling another arrow from her quiver, notched it to her bow, and aimed. Her body trembled for a moment, taunt as the string on her bow. She drew a breath, quickly drew back her arm and released. The arrow hung in the air for a moment before thudding into its mark.

Kagome's serious face broke into a sunny smile, pleased with the cluster of arrows at the center of the target. Inuyasha's heart lept into his throat at the sight of her joy. This girl may be Kikyou's incarnation, but she has an infinitely larger range of facial expressions than Kikyou ever had. He swallowed the lump in his throat with difficulty, a small cough breaking through that caused the girl to startle. She whipped around to face him, her hand rising to her chest and her eyes opening wide.

"Apologies Miss. Higurashi, I didn't intend to startle you," Inuyasha croaked out, his throat still a little raspy. (Choking back emotion was a little new to him. Usually it was hard enough getting any emotion other than annoyance or anger out of him.)

Kagome relaxed when she recognized her spectator, but her hand stayed protectively by her chest.

"Oh, um, no problem." She watched him for a moment, her eyes a pool of emotions; they flickered between confusion, curiosity, and nervousness. Inuyasha drank in the dark brown color of her eyes like a man dying of thirst.

Her eyes narrowed slightly then, the emotions leveling out to confusion tinged with annoyance.

"Do I have dirt on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?" Kagome huffed, rubbing her cheek in an attempt to remove the offending mark. Another blush blossomed prettily across her face. Inuyasha looked away sheepishly. _Whoops_. _Nice going dog breath._

"Ah, my apologies again Miss. You just remind me of someone I knew once. Can I assist you with resetting the target?" Inuyasha replied smoothly, motioning towards the target bustling with arrows.

"You're familiar with archery?" Kagome asked, her tone guarded. She picked up a stray arrow by her feet and inspected the head of the arrow. Satisfied, she slipped it back into the quiver.

"I'm no expert, but I am familiar. Familiar enough to pull some arrows out of the target, at least." Inuyasha's eyes returned to Kagome's face for a moment before looking pointedly at the pin cushion of a target next to the girl.

She gestured to the target. "Be my guest, Mr. Nishiki." Kagome busied herself with picking up some of the arrows that had missed their mark, humming quietly to herself. She had a nervous energy about her that Inuyasha couldn't help but notice. He tried to keep his hands steady as he pulled the arrows from the target. _She's not a bad shot_ _for a novice_ , Inuyasha noted.

They worked in a vaguely comfortable silence until all of the arrows had been collected and returned to their home in the quiver. Inuyasha cleared his throat quietly, straightening out and stretching his back out to loosen it up from his former hunched over position.

"You're a pretty good shot, Miss. Higurashi. But archery is a pretty niche sport nowadays. What made you pick it up, if you don't mind me asking?"

Kagome returned to the opposite end of the firing range, setting the quiver gently on the ground before lightly stretching her arms in preparation for her next round of shots.

"Well, part of it was necessity. As the eldest, it has been my responsibility to help Gramps with performing some of the rituals here on the shrine. There is one ritual that we perform every year that requires a shot from a 'priestess' into the sacred tree. My mother used to do it when I was very little, but I inherited the job from her once I was big enough, and good enough, to accurately fulfil the ceremony. I was good enough that my family encouraged me to compete for a while, but I gave it up when I decided to go to Medical School."

"Well, I can certainly see that you are an excellent shot Miss. Higurashi. I'm sure the competitive archery world is lacking without you in it," Inuyasha remarked. His heart lifted unexpectedly at her smile.

"Ha, I don't know about that. But at least I know I'll be able to protect the shrine if I have to!" Kagome joked with a wink. "Not that we are usually in much danger of that way up here away from the road. I think the stairs dissuade most people!"

Inuyasha laughed warmly, nodding his head in agreement. "It certainly is a long staircase. Nearly killed me on the way up here, and I had to make the trip twice!" Kagome smiled again, before taking a deep breath and calming her emotions.

Kagome drew an arrow from the quiver and in a breath had drawn it back and fired into the center of the target. The arrow thudded thickly, vibrating violently in its new position.

That pesky spot started to ache something fierce on Inuyasha's chest. He had to fight hard not to reach up to massage it in front of the girl. That ritual sounded a little too familiar, especially considering the precarious position Inuyasha found himself in at the moment. Being slightly downrange from someone shooting arrows with lethal accuracy was not a place that made him feel very comfortable. The universe laughed at him from somewhere in the ethos. Inuyasha mentally flipped off the world with both of his hands before returning to the situation.

The wind picked up for a moment, causing Kagome to pause to gauge its speed. Her hair snaked into her face, prompting the girl to set aside her arrow to comb it with her fingers out of her face. Inuyasha admired the girl quietly from behind his impartial mask of a face, noting the blue-purple tones in her hair and the floral smell that drifted towards Inuyasha on the wind. His nose wrinkled as another smell hit his sensitive senses.

 _What the—What is that smell? A demon!? That's impossible!_

Birds shot from the trees behind Kagome as the earth started to rumble and shake underneath their feet. The trees swayed from the movement of the ground, creaking wildly from the exertion. It seemed as though something was trying to drag itself from out of the ground. _Well, fuck me sideways_.

"Is it an earthquake?!" Kagome cried, losing her footing and falling heavily to the ground. She let out a yelp of pain, clutching her knee to her chest. As if it were happening in slow motion, Inuyasha could see blood welling up on the girl's knee. The blood forged a path straight for the side of her leg before dripping solidly onto the ground. The ground sucked it up greedily. Too greedily.

A wave blew out from the spot Kagome kneeled, nearly knocking Inuyasha from his feet. He gritted his teeth together and dug his feet into the ground, reaching out a hand in front of him to keep him steady. Kagome screamed, the noise grating against his ears and filling him with panic. He was overwhelmed with the desire—no, the _need_ —to protect this girl. He wasn't quite sure why he needed to protect her, but that was a problem to figure out later.

Inuyasha's knuckles cracked loudly, his claws extending from his fingertips in expectation. He dashed to Kagome, lifting her up by the armpits before jumping out of the way of a tree that came crashing down on the spot the girl had just been in.

"I SENSE IT! WHERE IS IT?! WHERE IS THE SACRED JEWEL?!" An inhuman screech erupted from the ground followed by a giant, pulsating mass of demon. It stretched impossibly high, legs wiggling furiously from the body, as it blocked out the sun. For a moment, the ugly creature was framed by a yellow glow before its red eyes trained themselves onto the pair.

"Is... Is that a giant centipede?" Kagome whimpered in disbelief, clutching the quiver and bow to her chest in a white knuckled grip.

"Close enough," Inuyasha responded. "Stay behind me, I'll protect you." Kagome's head bobbed automatically, forgetting that she had known this man for all of 15 minutes.

Yup. It's setting up to be a really bizarre day.


End file.
